MC Wins Two Public Relations Awards

May 30, 2008

Mississippi College received two awards at a convention drawing many of the state's leading college and university public relations professionals.

The awards came at the annual spring meeting of the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi. The group is designed to promote excellence in public relations at educational institutions in the state, including universities, community colleges and private colleges.

At the meeting in late May, MC received a second-place award in the senior division for its "president's report," the entry detailing President Lee Royce's first five years as leader at the Christian university in Clinton. Appearing in the university's flagship magazine, the report spotlighted successes by students, faculty and staff, and such key indicators as MC's successful $65 million "Growing the Vision" fund-raising campaign and record enrollments. The report appeared in MC's revitalized 64-page "Beacon" magazine in Fall 2007.

The 2008 CPRAM award went to MC Public Relations Director Tracey Harrison as the project manager and noted the work of other contributors including university news coordinator Andy Kanengiser, public relations office manager Tracy May, magazine writer Marlo Kirkpatrick, designer Alecia Porch and Georgia-based photographer Jay Thomas.

Also in the senior division, the CPRAM group awarded third-place to MC's Kanengiser for his feature stories titled "Generation to Generation" in the Fall 2007 issue of the campus magazine "MC Business."

Spread over four pages, the series of stories profiled four distinguished alumni families with numerous degrees from the MC School of Business. They stretched from decades ago to those of recent vintage. Some have grandchildren presently enrolled in business classes on the Clinton campus. "As an educator, there is a tremendous level of satisfaction and pride in seeing the children of former students and past graduates back in our classrooms," MC business dean Marcelo Eduardo noted in the magazine piece.

At the program in Tunica, CPRAM leaders also honored public relations professionals at other institutions, including Mississippi State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Belhaven College, Mississippi University for Women, Millsaps College and Mississippi Valley State University. Other winners included: Hinds Community College, Jones County Junior College, Copiah-Lincoln Community College and Pearl River Community College. There is one division for Mississippi's four-year institutions and graduate programs and another for the state's 15 two-year schools. The awards recognized such things as school admissions campaigns, campus magazines, color photographs, TV and radio spots and newsletters.

CPRAM members plan to convene in Vicksburg in May 2009 for the group's next spring awards conference.